Recently I went back and read an excellent book I first encountered almost 5 years ago. Start With Why by Simon Sinek may be one of the most profound books you will ever read as a coach. It was a stark reminder to myself why I started working and helping coaches build 6 figure coaching practices.

Here are some of the fundamentals I took away from Simon’s book:

There are 2 ways to influence human behavior – you can manipulate it or inspire it. Most current offers like special pricing, discounts, scarcity are all manipulative. That puts the prospect under stress for the benefit of the vendor.

Great coaches inspire their clients without the need for manipulation. We teach our coaches 8 strategies they can use with ANY business where in less than 45 minutes; they can find them more than $100,000 in additional bottom-line revenue.

When our coaches do this, they aren’t trying to manipulate the business owner’s into hiring them to coach them. They’re trying to inspire those business owners to see the true financial potential they command within their business… and then let THEM decide if they want or need our coaches in order to reach that potential.

Clients who are inspired are willing to pay premium prices, endure major inconvenience (actually set aside time every week to work ON their business versus IN it) and make major commitments. Inspired clients take these actions because they WANT to… not because they HAVE to.

Remember these 3 words… what, how and why!

Every business owner knows WHAT they do and HOW they do it… but most don’t know… or haven’t specifically defined… WHY they do it. Consider Apple – if they focused their messaging (as most businesses do) on the what and the how, their message would sound like this…

“We make great computers, they’re beautifully designed… simple to use and user friendly. Want to buy one?”

But Apple is an inspirational company – and they always start their messaging with their WHY.

“In everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. Want to buy one?”

They start their messaging with tangible PROOF of their cause.

Consider Dell computer – would you have reservations about purchasing a phone from Dell Computer? Since Dell is positioned as a computer company, they would have tremendous difficulty selling outside of that market, which they tried to do years ago with mp3 players and failed miserably.

But Apple has NO such barriers – yes, they sell computers, but also the iPhone, the iPad, the iPod, the Apple watch, Apple TV, Quick Time, Keynote and Logic Pro. Would you ever begin to consider buying a watch or a TV from Dell Computer?

But you have NO qualms doing so from Apple because they have positioned themselves as an “INNOVATION” company… NOT a computer company.

They have a massively loyal and fanatical following. Look what happens globally when they launch a new product or a new version of the iPhone – their customers line up on the sidewalk days in advance and camp out in the street just to be one of the first to get their hands on that product.

That’s the power you command when you inspire people. Apple inspires their followers by creating products that they can see will improve their quality of life.

Prospects don’t buy WHAT you do… they buy WHY you do it

Apples messaging, packaging, advertising and marketing all focus on their why – to challenge the status quo in everything they do – and focus on each of their individual customer’s wants and needs.

Have you ever noticed that Apples advertising NEVERS shows groups enjoying their products – ALWAYS individuals. Remember Apples “think differently” marketing campaign – it focused on individuals and never groups (Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Richard Branson, John Lennon).

Empowering the individual’s spirit is WHY Apple exists. Can any of you tell me what the higher purpose, cause or belief is for Hewlett Packard or Dell? When what, how and why are in balance, that’s when authenticity is achieved in the minds of your prospects.

So my question to everyone is this… what is YOUR why?

Why do you want to coach business owners?

I’ll even start this conversation and tell you my WHY!

Like most coaches, I share a burning passion to help small business owners.

I honestly and deeply believe they are literally the backbone of the global economy. The problem is that 96% of them fail within their first 5 years.

I wanted to make a major financial impact on the small business community globally, but I knew that by myself I simply couldn’t make any meaningful financial impact. Even if I went on the road and did non-stop seminars, I could only help a few thousand business owners every year – and 95% of them wouldn’t take action based on the information they would receive at my seminar. They need personal one to one coaching.

So here’s my game plan for accomplishing my goal.

I decided I needed to partner with at least 1000 coaches globally over 10 years. I would then train each coach how to help 100 business owners per year – 20 one to one clients and 80 online members.

On average, each of these businesses would increase revenue by $50,000 over that 10 year period. Multiply those numbers and we’re talking a $5 BILLION dollar financial impact in just 10 years.

That’s MY why, and why I want all of you to be better coaches.

If you want to find businesses with ethics and integrity, then look and confirm that everything they do, everything they say, everything they represent is consistent with their WHY.

Now it’s your turn – discover your WHY, and then articulate it whenever you can.

Remember, prospects don’t buy WHAT you do… they buy WHY you do it!

So until next time,